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Monday, August 17, 2015

Growing up with Tulika books

In February last year, I had quit my job just after 7 months
of work. I had decided to take a short break to do certain things that really
interested me and made me happy. I love being around children and realized that
writing short, funny stories for them would be something that I could possibly
do. It was during that time that my mother, who had always bought Tulika books
for me when I was younger, insisted that I try writing for Tulika. It seemed to
me like a great idea – like something that I would definitely be happy doing. Subsequently, I had also started taking music and
French lessons. This gave me a lot of energy, and motivated me to experiment with new
ideas.

The main thing that prompted me to write for Tulika over
other publishers was the fact that I felt familiar with the style of writing.
In a way it was like coming back home – a comfort zone that I could go back to;
the closest I could get to being a child again. Authors and storytellers like
Jeeva Raghunath, Sandhya Rao and Vayu Naidu were my favorites.

I remember reading Ekki Dokki as a child one evening and it
was the best thing that happened that weekend! I re-read the book and others many
times, and my mother read it aloud when I would go to bed (even though I was
old enough to read the books at the time, I preferred my mother to read them
out to me at bedtime!) Tulika books are perfect for reading out loud – they give
the ultimate storytelling experience.

So, having decided to write for Tulika, I thought I could start
with something really small – something ‘ant sized’ which would hopefully, over
time, turn into something bigger. I began to think of stories where children
did mischievous things or small acts of kindness. However, curiosity, as a
feeling, is something that children can relate to. We all like
small things, and children are almost always picking up small objects around them.
I realized that writing a story also meant creating the visuals, and I was as
excited about the visuals as I was about the writing. And so, what started out as individual doodles, became a story in itself.

I knew that I wanted to keep the stories simple, as those
are the kind of stories that really appeal to me even today. I doodled some
more, wrote some more, and, eventually, I mustered up the courage to send some
of these stories to Tulika. Soon after that, I joined my present job which I
enjoy very much.

Excatly a year later (February this year), I was pleasantly
surprised by a mail from Tulika on publishing ‘the ants’ manuscript! This meant
that I was going to be a Tulika author!! My happiness grew by infinite
proportions and I was more than excited. Before I knew it, my story, Follow the Ants, was published and translated into 8 Indian languages.

So far, I have absolutely enjoyed the experience of being an
author with Tulika – it has still has not sunk in. Be it the storytelling sessions,
signing the books, visiting the Tulika bookstore, interacting with the Tulika
team - everything has been absolutely brilliantJ

I really hope to continue writing small stories that little
kids can relate to, and maybe stories that slightly older kids can read as
well. Like the ants, I think I too need to continue marching towards things
that make me happy - and right now, it is my passion to write and doodle, and
try to create something that everyone can enjoy.